Demons come up short at Fort Madison

FORT MADISON — Washington senior Lauren Kimball sank two 3-pointers in the final 24 seconds of Friday’s Southeast Conference game at Fort Madison to pull the Demons to within one point, but time ran out on Washington in a 38-37 loss to the Bloodhounds.

“We were down seven points with 24 seconds left and Kimball hit two big threes to make it as close as it was,” Washington head coach Phil Long said. “To our kids’ credit, they clawed back. That last three that Kimball hit with 1.3 seconds left, she was 3 feet behind the line.”

But Fort Madison (4-15, 1-6 SEC) was able to run out the final 1.3 seconds to seal the upset victory.

Junior Rachel Steffensmeier drained three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Bloodhounds.

“We got the opening tip-off and missed a breakaway layup, and that kind of set the tone for the game,” Long said. “It was nothing magical that they did to us other than they banked in a few 3-pointers and they banked in a few free throws and we couldn’t make layups. Right now we’re just struggling to put the ball in the hole.”

Long hopes his team can find a way to jump-start the offense before this week’s games against Mid-Prairie and Mt. Pleasant. Since the Demons lost to Fort Madison on Friday, the game against the Panthers will decide the SEC champion.

“Our kids are second-guessing it once they touch the ball, and they need to shoot with confidence,” Long said. “Somehow I need to get these kids to understand it’s OK to miss. Every one of our kids came in on Saturday and Sunday and shot on their own. That lid is going to come off. And we’re going to score 60 or 70 points when it happens.”